Thursday, August 22, 2013

Masonic Priest walks To Rome For Special Plea

A French priest arrived in St Peter's Square on Wednesday after a 39-day pilgrimage, telling AFP he wanted to be reinstated in his parish despite being a Freemason.Father Pascal Vesin, a 43-year-old parish priest in the town of Megeve, was forced to resign from his public duties in May because of his Masonic link.A thickly-bearded Vesin, his face tanned by the summer walking and with a large rucksack on his back, was moved to tears as he told his emotional story.Vesin, who set off from Megeve on July 14, said he had been "wounded by the injustice" and had written to Pope Francis asking for his punishment to be lifted."I hope I am received by Pope Francis or one of his secretaries," he said, adding that he would stay in Rome until September 6 hoping for a papal audience.Vesin's diocese said he could no longer carry out his pastoral duties because he had chosen to be a member of both the Catholic Church and a Masonic order.The Church and the Freemasons have been at odds for centuries but Vesin said the two were compatible.He said he had received wide support for his voyage."I feel my initiative is in synch with what this new pope is preaching and seems to be starting," he said.His local diocese has said that "no door is closed" and the injunction against Vesin "could be lifted" but only if Vesin renounces Freemasonry.

9 comments:

I salute you Brother. That's a very noble thing to do having a pilgrimage and doing what one believes is right, there's nothing wrong with being a Mason and a Priest at the same time. The Vatican already apologized for what it did to our fore bearers-the Knights Templars, why should then be masons still be excommunicated if the church which denounced it apologized for the atrocities it committed against the Order thus the church should by now have nothing against Freemasonry... despite the attitude towards Masons still here in the Philippines and around the globe, Freemasons are among the biggest supporters of the church and give donations for building of churches and donations for church projects.But as always Masons dont brag about it.

I commend this priest's actions. His story reminds me of the life of one of the most respected priests in all of Christendom, St. Thomas Aquinas. Thomas was excommunicated several times by the Church. At the time of his death he was traveling to Lyon, France (the opposite pilgrimage of our modern priest) to defend his work once again. His crime - he was trying to convince the Vatican that the teachings of Aristotle (the singular authority of science at the time) was compatible with Biblical teachings. He is now considered one of the most influential priests to have ever lived.Freemasonry and Catholicism share a unique place in the social order of Latin America. Freemasonry is respected for its support of the liberation of the region as much as the Church is venerated as the spiritual guide. I am most interested in the way in which the first Latin American Pontiff received our worthy Brother.

Let's be cautious about public statements on political stuff like this. We know nothing about the background of this priest. Those who have commented most likely know little about the masonic climate in France and have no recollection that about 17 years ago masonic lodges publicly demonstrated against the Pope's state visit to Paris. Photos of masons, all in tuxedos wearing white gloves and white aprons carrying banners denouncing the Pope as an evil person. The demonstrators were all from lodges of the Grand Orient of France making a political point emphasizing the need for the separation of Church and State. Let us remember there is no solid universality within international freemasonry. We best not become involved in the these problems within Europe. I speak as a Catholic Freemason who has been studying the masonic situation in France and Germany for 25 years.

Kenneth Gibala, PMBenjamin B French Lodge 15Maynilad Lodge 1521Grand lodge of the District of Columbia

It is interesting that some professing Catholic men are joining Freemasonry instead of the Knights of Columbus.

The Knights of Columbus was founded on Feb,6,1882 by the venerable Father Michael McGivney, as an alternative for "Catholic men from entering secret societies (including Freemasonry) whose membership was antithetical to church membership."

The four core Principles of the Knights of Columbus are Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism, which are taught to members by a series of Four Degrees.

"Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to men 18 years of age or older who are practical (that is, practicing) Catholics in union with the Holy See."

During 2012, my former job supervisor was a professed practicing Catholic and not a member of the Knights of Columbus. But he was (and currently still is) a professed Catholic and proud member of the Masonic Fraternity! :)

Sorry but the Grand Orient of France is in no way "an enemy of the church". Many Roman Catholics are members of the GODF, and even there are many lodges of the GODF working in the Scottish Rectified Rite, which as you may know is a Christian rite.

What the Grand Orient de France challenges are the constant attempts of the Roman Catholic Church, in countries like France, to develop a strong political role. The GODF is for strict separation of church and state, not against the church itself.

In this sense, the GODF only takes a more public approach to a cause shared by other important Masonic Bodies, such as the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, which "advocate complete separation of church and state, absolute freedom and protection of religion, press assembly, and the dignity of every individual." If this public approach is proper or not is another issue, but make no mistake: the GODF is not against any church, and many Roman Catholics are members of the GODF.

ATTENTION!Kindly sign your comment posts. Anonymous postings on Masonic topics have the same status as cowans and eavesdroppers, as far as I am concerned, and may be deleted if I don't recognize you or if I'm in a grumpy mood.

A mythic past. A visionary future. A legendary brotherhood.

Freemasonry is the world's largest, oldest and best-known gentleman's fraternity. It is based on the medieval stonemason guilds who built the great castles and cathedrals of Europe. Modern Freemasons likewise use the tools, traditions and terminology of those earlier stonemasons as allegories for building Temples in the hearts of men.

It's said that we are a secret society. We do indeed have secrets—secrets that each individual man has to discover for and about himself.

At its core, Freemasonry is simply an attempt to make the world a better place, one man at a time. For that man, it can become as simple or as complicated as he himself desires. It's not for everybody. Maybe it's for you.

"Brother Chris Hodapp's [blog]...is thought provoking and is often the first place on the web where new ideas and matters of interest are posted."

Chris received his college education at Indiana University, the University of Southern California, Los Angeles Valley College, California State University at Northridge, and Indiana/Purdue University at Indianapolis.

Chris spent twenty-three years in advertising as a commercial filmmaker for Dean Crow Productions, shooting and editing close to 1,000 commercials, music videos and feature films. He has written scripts for corporate and non-profit clients, and his voice has appeared in countless television and radio commercials.

He was the editor and a contributor in 2004-5 to "Laudable Pursuit: A 21st Century Response to Dwight Smith"by the Knights of the North, a Masonic leadership think-tank focussing on modern lodge solutions. He has written for Indianapolis Monthly, Masonic Magazine, Templar History, the Scottish Rite Journal, the Knight Templar Magazine, the Indiana Freemason , the Phylaxis, and numerous other publications.

Hodapp and Alice Von Kannon developed episode outlines for the History Channel program, Brad Meltzer's Decoded in 2010, and contributed material on conspiracies and secret societies for TruTV and the American Heroes Channel. They have both appeared on National Public Radio, the History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic, Smithsonian, and the American Heroes Channel - most recently in 2017 on America: Facts vs Fiction.

His latest major book project is a 200 year retrospective history of the Grand Lodge of Indiana F&AM, to be released in January 2018.

He and Alice live in Indianapolis with their very French poodle, Wiley.

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